Everyday I get the EMI Higher Education Report. I thought everyone would be interested in this section. It talks about Homeland Security Funding. Fire Department grants are included. Looks like funding will increase this year. I have reprinted the section below. This was taken from the November 3, 2008 report.

(3) State and Local Homeland Security Funding:

Congressional Research Service (Shawn Reese). FY2009 Appropriations for State and Local Homeland Security (RS22805). Washington, DC: CRS Report for Congress, 3 pages, October 10, 2008. Accessed at: http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22805_20081010.pdf

Excerpts:

Congress appropriated, in P.L. 110-329, approximately $4.36 billion for state and local homeland security assistance programs. This is approximately $135 million more than was appropriated in FY2008 ($4.22 billion).

This report is an overview of the FY2009 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs for states and localities that are designed to provide assistance to state and local governments. The assistance is primarily used by first responders, which include firefighters, emergency medical personnel, emergency managers, and law enforcement officers.

The Office of Grant Programs within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for facilitating and coordinating DHS state and local assistance programs. The office administers formula and discretionary grant programs to further state and local homeland security capabilities. As a result of the reorganization mandated by the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-295), the work of the Office of Grant Programs was separated from FEMA training activities.

FEMA’s National Integration Center within the agency’s National Preparedness
Directorate administers training, exercises, and technical assistance for states and
localities. In FY2009, DHS’s assistance programs for states and localities include:

• State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP);
• Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI);
• Port Security Program;
• Transit Security Program;
• Bus Security Program;
• Trucking Security Program;
• Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP);
• Assistance to Firefighters (FIRE);
• Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG);
• Citizen Corps Program (CCP);
• Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS);
• Training, technical assistance, exercises, and evaluations;
• Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program (CEDAP);
• Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program (PSIC);
• Center for Counterterrorism and Cyber Crime;
• Emergency Operations Centers (EOC); and
• Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grants.